On Tuesday, the nation marked the 226th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution. Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court, Tani Cantil-Sakauye, writing in the Sacramento Bee, argues that in order to preserve our democracy, education needs to focus on civic learning. At the close of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, Benjamin Franklin famously remarked […]

In the Wall Street Journal, CUNY professor Jonathan Jacobs argues that American education does not adequately prepare students for responsible civic life, raising questions for the future of American democracy.

On Tuesday evening, AEI’s Program on American Citizenship hosted the second annual Walter Berns Constitution Day Lecture. Michael Zuckert of the University of Notre Dame spoke on the topic of slavery at the constitutional convention.

Tonight, we celebrate the second annual Walter Berns Constitution Day Lecture, which was established by AEI’s Program on American Citizenship to honor Walter’s scholarship on the Constitution and America’s founding principles.

The President of the United States has awarded 3,471 Medals of Honor since the award’s inception in 1861, recognizing soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines for risking their life above the call of duty. James Roberts, writing in the Wall Street Journal, laments the fact that not a single living service member has received the Medal of Honor from service in the Iraq War, and provides a remarkable example of valor deserving of recognition.

Amidst a still-recovering economy and concerns over a possible confrontation with Syria, a new poll by Gallup suggests that Americans have a record low level of confidence in the government. Released on Friday, the survey shows that less than half the public has even a fair amount of confidence in the government’s ability to handle domestic or international matters.

With Constitution Day fast approaching, several civic leaders have taken the opportunity to critically analyze the state of American civic education and stress the need for reform. William H. Sieben, president of the American Board of Trial Advocates, and Sandra Day O’Connor, former Supreme Court Justice and creator of iCivics, both argue that improved civic education is critical to the future of our nation.

In the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks, Americans expressed their grief and condolences in many ways. For four New York architects, the best way to honor the fallen Americans was to create the first public memorial at Ground Zero, writes Elizabeth Greenspan in The Atlantic.

In the latest addition to “The Professions and Civic Culture” series, Weekly Standard contributor and Washington, DC lawyer Adam J. White discusses the evolution of American lawyers. His essay, “Tocqueville’s ‘Most Powerful Barrier’: Lawyers in Civic Society,” argues that profound changes in the legal profession have undermined lawyers’ role as a natural brake against the “revolutionary spirit and unreflective passions of democracy” that Alexis de Tocqueville admired in 19th century American lawyers.

The iconic military hymn “Taps” has been a hallmark of American military funerals since 1891. Tom Day, founder of the organization Bugles Across America, strives to ensure that that tradition, and the veterans who died in America’s service, are not forgotten. In a new article in the Weekly Standard, the great Matt Labash describes Day’s lifelong commitment to honoring veterans.

As lawmakers debate military intervention in Syria, it’s important to consider their professional background. Drew DeSilver of the Pew Research Center compiled the rates of veterans in Congress over the years, and the results may surprise you.

Former chairman of the National Council of the Humanities and adviser to the National Civic Art Society Bruce Cole has been named to the Eisenhower Memorial panel, AP News reports. Cole has been an outspoken critic of Frank Gehry’s “metal tapestry” design, and will join a panel of 10 other commissioners to oversee the project’s development.

Since 1960, single parents have more than tripled as a share of American households. In an article for The Atlantic, AEI’s Aparna Mathur and her coauthors Hao Fu and Peter Hansen note that single-parent households face significantly lower incomes, higher rates of health problems, and poorer educational outcomes.

The share of households that own their own home has plummeted during the recession. Shaila Dewan, writing for the New York Times, describes the consequences of the increase in rental properties, including less social stability and lower voter turnout.

In a new essay published by the Claremont Review of Books, Richard Samuelson makes the case for “American exceptionalism,” arguing that America’s national identity is rooted in the Constitution rather than a unified culture. Owing to the Constitution’s embrace of universal rights, America is more tolerant of minority groups than most other nations, Samuelson argues.

While “service learning” is popular in many schools, with 19 states granting graduation credit for volunteer work, a recent study suggests that mandatory volunteer work may actually result in a decline in long-term volunteering from students. Sarah D. Sparks, writing for EdWeek, makes the case that incentivizing service learning in schools, rather than outright mandating it, may help students become more invested in volunteerism.

There is more to civic engagement than going to the polls every four years. Tom Spengler, writing for the Huffington Post, offers a more robust guide to civic engagement, relying on the power of the digital age to stay involved in your community.

2013 marks both the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation as well as the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. In an effort to understand the complex legacy of slavery from our nation’s founding, AEI’s Program on American Citizenship will host the second annual Walter Berns Constitution Day Lecture, featuring Michael Zuckert, professor at the University of Notre Dame. The lecture, “Slavery and the Constitution: An immoral compromise?” will examine the “pro-” and “anti-slavery” interpretations of the Constitutional Convention.

Last week, University of Virginia professor James W. Ceaser’s essay discussed the divided state of modern political science. This week, Peter Levine of CIRCLE responded to Ceaser’s piece, agreeing that political science ought to take a more active role in civic education.

In the New Criterion, Harvard professor Harvey Mansfield reviews Lucien Jaume’s 2008 book Tocqueville: The Aristocratic Sources of Liberty (recently translated by Arthur Goldhammer). In his review, he asks if a democracy can sustain itself without the help of its rival, aristocracy?